


Expect to Accept

by illogical_vulcan



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Childbirth, Hurt Bucky Barnes, M/M, Mpreg, NOT an alpha/beta/omega story, Pregnant Sex, bucky barnes has short hair, graphic birth, mpreg is not a natural occurrence in this AU, very minor non-con in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:34:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24146722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illogical_vulcan/pseuds/illogical_vulcan
Summary: After being captured by HYDRA and having painful experiments performed on them, Steve and Bucky luckily escape before things started to get worse. They may have escaped HYDRA's grasp but they cannot escape the aftermath of what they had done to them. Especially Bucky.(This story is set in the 1940s where Steve doesn't go through ice and Red Skull doesn't exist).
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 19
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I haven't written a fanfic in a really long time and I might be a little rusty. It's also 1 AM and I'm pretty sure my spelling isn't up to check LOL
> 
> I hope you enjoy the first chapter to this story nonetheless :)

This is it. This is where they sense that nothing can be worse than what they’re going through right now. They’re at the point of pure exhaustion and complete defeat. 

Steve Rodgers and James Barnes captured together in a secret HYDRA base. They don’t remember how they got there in the first place. Maybe because it’s been God knows how long since they’ve been captured. They have been drugged so many times they’ve lost count and it’s caused them to be completely disoriented. It’s despairing to say that they could not even remember the last time they felt the warm light of the sun on their skin. The voice of their loved ones, the reassurance that their subconscious minds long for seemed so far away and impossible from the lack of hope they have. Tied up and drugged in uncomfortable hospital beds in a filthy, poorly lit medical room, all the they had was each other. The beds felt worn and overdue for a mattress replacement. Both men were forced to lay there on their backs strapped from their wrists and ankles with very limited movement. Not only was is discomforting to their bodies but psychologically it took a large toll. 

The people of Hydra showed no mercy when it came to conducting their unscrupulous experiments. Although they were sedated for most of the procedures they were never given any medication to help manage the pain they felt if they ever had anything surgically done to them. 

This was especially worse for Bucky. A man and a woman came in and immediately started wheeling him out of the room. Steve fought hard against the restraints in a failed attempt to escape and rescue his friend. They had no idea what was about to happen.

“Where the hell are you taking him?!” His shout echoed across the half empty room. Of course they ignored him. Whenever there was attempt at escaping or rebelling against their capture they would be instantly injected with more sedatives. After what felt like the one thousandth needle injection, Steve found himself passing out, the last thing he saw was a worried Bucky being wheeled out of the room.

They knew Steve wouldn’t be harmed by the drugs because of the serum. They even managed to extract the serum’s effects from his blood and replicate the experiment performed on him back on the military base to Bucky and surprisingly it worked. Bucky now had similar physical builds and enhanced abilities just like Steve. Steve’s first thought after what they did to Bucky was that Hydra wanted to create more super soldiers for an army but all they seemed to be doing was putting them through copious amounts of physical torture like as if they were testing their pain tolerance. 

Bucky would never admit it to himself that he was scared. He may have had intense training done while he was in the army but this was different and it felt horrendous. The first time they took him out of the room he shared with Steve was for the Super Soldier experiment. Since then they’ve had to endure electrical, flame and water torture. They would hang them from the ceiling and zap them with thousands of volts, increasing it each time to see how far they can go without killing them. They even did various amounts of water torture where they laid them down, place a thick cloth on their face and drop buckets of water on them to see how much they can go without taking a breath. Even though they have the serum coursing through their veins giving them the ability to be stronger, they still feel pain just like they did before the serum. 

This time Bucky has no idea what’s happening. They wheeled him into a room similar to the one he was accommodated in. The only thing different was that there was a large ultrasound machine placed in the corner along with a man in a lab coat preparing to turning it on. 

“Ah you are just in time” the strange man said in a thick Russian accent as he used one finger to adjust his glasses. He gave Bucky a very unsettling smile as the Hydra lab workers set his bed right next to the machine. They all left the room except one and she seemed like she worked in this place as a nurse. She looked strangely presentable and clean in her Hydra uniform considering this filthy place was not the most adequate for any medical practices. 

“What the hell are you going to do to me?” Bucky growled, trying not to sound afraid. He was frantic. He looked around the room in a panic while a nurse and the strange man did not answer him and instead smiled very creepily, turning his direction to the machine.

Bucky was uncomfortable. Not at the fact that this man was incredibly unsettling to be around but at the fact that they haven’t inflicted any pain on him yet. Was this some kind of sick joke to keep him in anticipation like this?  
The strange doctor (at least he assumes he’s one) lifted Bucky’s shirt up causing him to flinch violently. 

“Do not fear, I will only inspect” he said in a calm manner gesturing the nurse to turn on the machine.

He did just that. He poured a cold gel on Bucky’s stomach and proceeded to probe his lower abdomen with the ultrasound machine. He probed around for what felt like hours to Bucky until he finally spoke again but this time in Russian.

“This is an adequate enough space for the artificial womb.”

Bucky’s heart just jumped. He was confused and worried as to why they suddenly went from English to Russian. He mentally cursed at himself for not understanding what they were saying. He just laid there while he was probed by the doctor. Feeling all that pressure on his stomach made him sick.

“Do a blood extraction and get him prepared for the surgery.” The doctor calmly ordered the nurse. 

The nurse wrapped a tight band around Bucky’s arm and pricked a needle into his vein extracting a large vile of blood. 

“Please, what are you going to do to me?” He begged, the blood still pouring into the vile.

“We will take DNA from your blood to do what we thought only nature can do…and oh! Yes! Prepare you for surgery of course.” The doctor smiled wickedly. He seemed way too excited about this. It was sickening. At this point the nurse took the needle out and told the doctor she was ready whenever he was.

“Surgery? What WAIT NO-“ Bucky struggled until he suddenly became drowsy and sleepy. Fuck he was being sedated again. Everything from here had just gone black and he was once again even more defenceless.

Back at the other room where Steve was, a nurse walked in with a tray on wheels. At this point he was only half sedated and was confused There was a cup, a tube of ointment and a few towels laid out on the tray. He wondered if she wanted to take a urine sample for something. At this point he didn’t bother giving into the confusion as everything that was happening to them was just fucked up beyond belief.

But what was about to happen next was TRULY beyond his expectations.

The nurse, a fairly good looking young lady who looked to be about Steve’s age. She had gorgeous golden hair that was tied up in a clean and presentable bun. Her nurse’s dress looked a little different than the other one’s he’s seen wear…this dress seemed to be tight fitting on her and it allowed the almost perfect hourglass shape of her body to be prominent. It even enhanced the look of her breasts to make it seem like they pop out. Steve’s heart rate spiked slightly at the alluring sight.

Not a word spoken in this moment. Steve didn’t know what to make of the situation. She slowly stepped closer to him and raised his bed head so that he’s sitting up and at a comfortable eye level with her. She chuckled and gave a dashing smile as she slowly pulled Steve’s pants down. 

“Woah, lady pLEASE-“ before even getting a chance to complete his sentence she immediately grabbed his limp dick and began to rub it.

'Don’t give in, don’t give in, don’t give in god damn it!'

It was too late. Steve resisted the moans that wanted to escape his mouth but he couldn’t help how hard his dick was getting. This caused the nurse to chuckle some more, impressed at herself at how easy it was to get him started.  
She pumped without a break. Steve didn’t even have a chance to breath and it didn’t help that his dick was raging hard right now. After a few slow pumps she stopped and reached to grab the ointment from the tray. She squirted a clear thick liquid on her finger tips and spread the lube seductively all over her hand. She grabbed Steve’s dick again and without warning she pumped twice as fast as before. He couldn’t help but moan in absolute pleasure. He didn’t want this but the pleasure was too powerful to fight. 

It wasn’t long before Steve came. Breathing heavily, looking away in shame from what just happened. His head snapped back when he felt an unusual sensation on his now limp dick. The nurse was collecting his seed into the empty cup he saw on the tray earlier. 

“Please…what are you going to do with that?” He breathed hard. 

Still not a word from the nurse. Just a big scandalous smile and a wink and with that she left the room with Steve’s specimen. 

Steve lay there in panic and despair. He needed to get himself and his pal out of here. He needed to try and find a way to stop from them from drugging him so that he can find his chance to break free and escape. 

Little did the nurse know, a bobby pin fell from her hair while she pumped Steve up. It probably fell because of how she tried to make her hair look seductive for Steve. She may have used one too many pins and didn’t realise one of them had come loose and fell right on the side of the bed. He took said pin and kept it tucked under his thigh until she left. 

He finally had a plan.

\- 

“Bucky…oh God what the hell did they do to you..

Please wake up…

BUCKY!” 

His eyes shot open. Bucky tried to sit up but instead groaned from the pain his stomach. He looked down at his stomach to see it wrapped up with cloth and a gauze. A small patch of blood has seeped through the wound. 

“Bucky thank God you’re awake” Steve said in a worried tone. It took Bucky a good minute to gather his thoughts and become aware of his surroundings again. He still felt groggy from the sedatives.

What he didn’t realise was Steve was standing above him…no restraints. He managed to finally escape. 

“How did you-“ 

“No time to explain we need to get the hell out of here.” Steve said while unfastening Bucky’s restraints. He really didn’t find this to be the right time to tell Bucky about his experience with the nurse.

“My stomach…Steve…” Bucky groaned, grabbing tight on Steve's arm for support.

“It’s alright buddy I got you don’t worry.” 

Steve helped Bucky slowly get up from the bed and supported half of his weight as they exited the room. Steve looked left and right and made sure there was no one around before they found their chance to leave the room. They hurried down the hall until one of the Hydra soldiers turned a corner and spotted them. In a quick panic, Steve set Bucky down and attempted to take the soldier down. The man shot at Steve and nicked him on his forearm. This still didn’t stop Steve from completely taking him down. After knocking the man out, he picked Bucky up bridal style this time. He ran through the long hallway until he took a sharp left and saw a big metal door with large rusty leaver that would lead them outside. The noise from the grinding of the rusty metal door opening caused loud and obnoxious alarms to go off. Just as Steve managed to pry open the heavy door, a crowd of soldiers were rushing towards them and shooting at them. Luckily he had opened it enough to carry Bucky outside and avoiding any bullets fired at them.

As they escaped into the woods, the shots didn’t stop but it did get harder for the soldiers to shoot at them because of the thick trees and bushes Steve ran into for escape.

Steve ran for as long as he could and eventually the shooting stopped. He was in the middle of no where and he had no idea where to go. Bucky groaned in pain while in his arms. He clutched his own stomach as it cramped painfully. It felt like someone had dug their hands inside and squeezed every possible organ they could grab at once. 

“Hey Buck, it’s okay, we’re gonna be okay.” Steve reassured. Bucky couldn’t respond because he was too busy focused on managing the pain. 

Steve was about to sit Bucky down until he heard the horn of cargo train in the distance. This was their chance to truly get far away from this area. He followed the direction of the sound of the horn until he saw the tracks and there was indeed a cargo train slowly riding by. He ran as fast as he could while holding Bucky in his arms to catch up with the train. Once caught up he first threw Bucky then himself onto one of the opened up cargos. Bucky yelped in agony from the impact of landing on the train floor. Steve gave him an apologetic look as he slumped against the wall and let Bucky lay his head on his lap. 

“We’re going to be okay bud.” Steve breathed. Bucky didn’t respond as he fell sleep. Steve took one good look at him and realised that this is the first time in a long time Bucky looked peaceful while he slept. 

He has no idea what they did to Bucky. Steve hoped that whatever experiments they were doing to him would no longer be valid because of their escape and that Bucky can heal with no problems. At least he hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Steve and Bucky find a cabin they can safely hide out in. Bucky still hasn't completely healed and has come across some painful complications from the surgery. It's now up to Steve to help take care of him and nurse him back to good health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you kindly for comments you guys left in the first chapter. It really encouraged me to complete this one. This chapter is much longer than the other one and I actually had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> PS!
> 
> Sorry if there are any grammatical errors. I've tried my best to check this over and over to make it perfect for you guys.

The ride was quiet. Bucky napped peacefully on the hard wooden floor of the train. The poor thing was exhausted from their ordeal. Steve would sit up the entire ride keeping an eye on his best friend and on the scenery over the horizon. They were surrounded by a forest of pine trees atop a mountain somewhere. He can’t even tell whether they’re even in another country or not. It was a sunny day with not a cloud in sight. The air’s breeze was chilly enough to bring goosebumps on his skin but the sun was warm enough to feel the comfort of its rays. He took a deep breath of fresh air and exhaled slowly. He doesn’t remember the last time he felt this peaceful despite what had just happened to them. 

God, he missed home so damn much.

He just wanted everything to go back to normal. He doesn’t feel like anything can be the way it was again though. Not after what they’ve been through. The conditions in which they were were put through was inhumane. Steve wouldn’t even want to wish it on his worst enemy. They wouldn’t even let them bathe when they needed to. They’ve been stuck wearing the same black cargo pants and shirts throughout most of their duration on the secret base. They were desperate to bathe. They weren’t adequately fed but luckily the serum gave them the strength to push through. If Hydra had done what they did to them to a normal human being they would be dead by now.

The sun was starting to set and it was getting colder and colder with each passing hour and the clothes on their back wasn't warm enough for them to survive. They still didn’t know where they were and Steve was worried about whether they can find shelter soon enough before they freeze to death. His anxious thoughts were interrupted by a soft groan. Bucky had finally woken up.

“Ugh..where the hell are we?” Bucky said hoarsely while snuggling to sit up. The stitches were still very raw and painful.

“Not a clue. As soon as this train stops we’re getting off to find shelter.” Steve replied, wincing at the sight of Bucky lifting his shirt up to reveal the bloodied bandage on his stomach. “We need to get you somewhere where you can rest and let that thing heal.” Just as Steve finished his sentence, the train’s horn sounded. It was finally coming to a stop. 

“Now’s our chance Buck, let’s go.” Steve said in a hurried voice while trying to help his friend up. The train slowly came to a stop at a very small and remote station that didn’t seem to have anyone in it. Luckily the cargo they were in was at the far back so the chances that someone would see them was very low. Steve jumped off and held his arms out for Bucky to carry him down with as little force as possible. Like a defenceless child jumping off a high ledge into their parent’s arms.

“Can you walk?” Steve asked, his arm automatically going to Bucky’s side.

“Yeah but I don’t think I can run.” Bucky was embarrassed because he felt debilitated. He knew that the sun had already started to set and they’re losing precious daylight. He was afraid that the stitches might break and cause him to bleed out but he still felt guilty that he couldn’t keep up. 

“That’s okay. Just take it easy, we’ll find somewhere we can hide out soon.” Steve reassured with a small smile patting him gently on the back. It made Bucky feel only a little bit better.

They entered into the woods, not really knowing what to expect. Steve’s priority more than anything was to get Bucky to a safe place to let him rest. It was always Bucky that looked after Steve as he was deemed the weakest of the two. He didn’t want to admit it but he didn’t think he would have ever survived the brutal parts of Brooklyn if it wasn’t for his best friend. Since he’s been given the super soldier abilities, he has always felt this intense obligation to return the favour. He always felt like he was a burden to Bucky, having to look after him and protecting him against drunken idiots in alleyways. As much as he will never admit it; when he used to be defenceless, Steve could have been killed from one blow to the head. This feels like a good chance to redeem himself and help Bucky as much as he can until he’s in good health again. 

They walked for about half an hour. It was getting dangerously close to night time and both men are starting to lose hope for finding shelter. Just as they were walking down a trail of bush Steve stepped into a bear trap. The rusty jaws of the trap instantly snapped on his ankle, digging deep into his skin causing agonising pain. 

“Shit Steve!” Bucky shouted as he got on his knees to free his friend. Steve collapsed on the ground in shock groaning and whimpering in pain as Bucky retracted the metal back to its original pose, setting the trap up again. Steve grabbed at his ankle to assess the damage and grimaced in pain as the wound wouldn’t stop bleeding. Bucky ripped the sleeve off of his shirt and tied it around his ankle as a makeshift bandage to stop the blood from pouring. Steve let out a big sigh of relief when it worked and both men slumped on the ground to gather their breath again. 

“Thanks” Steve heaved. What would he do without Bucky? Serum or not he truly felt like a lost cause without him.

“Bear trap. That means there’s probably a cabin or a house nearby that we can scope out” Bucky said, clenching his stomach as he started to feel a stinging pain in his wound. He decided not to worry too much about it. After Steve got up he limped alongside Bucky and continued their search. Thank god Bucky was right. There was a cabin hidden by the bushes surrounding it. It looked very old and worn down. This cabin looked like it was intentionally built in this location to be secluded from the outside world. Whoever resides here must be a hunter who preferred to live a solitary life. 

“Looks abandoned” Steve said putting both his palms against the filthy window to look inside. 

The door lock was rusted so it luckily opened with ease. Both men observed their surroundings to see what they could make use of. The cabin was fairly large. There was the main room which had a small table and tree logs for chairs. A bookcase filled with texts that were covered in thick layers of cobweb. Next to the bookcase was a locked wooden cabinet. The main room was big enough to accomodate the basic amenities such as a living/study area and a kitchen with basic cooking utensils. Everything was rusty and covered in dust and cobwebs. There was a fireplace in the middle that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. Above it was a large Communist Russia flag. This made Steve feel uneasy. Ignoring the flag he started to get a flame going before it went completely pitch black outside.

“I think we’re in Moscow” Bucky stated, picking up an old book with a picture of Moscow highlighted on Russia’s map on the front cover. It seemed to be a geography book of some sort. He couldn’t understand what was on it because all the books on the shelf were in Russian. The only one that made sense to him was the Russian English dictionary. That might come in handy at some point.

But Moscow? How the hell did they even get there? How the hell are they even going to get home?

Steve scoped out the only other room in the cabin to find a bed and wardrobe filled with old farmer’s clothes. It looked like men’s clothes that would hopefully fit him and Bucky.

“Look what I found!” Bucky called out from the main room. Steve exited the room to find Bucky chuckling and holding a large shotgun and an unopened bottle of Russian whiskey. “It’s fully loaded and we’ve got extra ammo too. I found it in that wooden cabinet over there.” He pointed his head in the direction of the cabinet they saw earlier. 

“Wow. Seems like whoever built this cabin meant serious business” Steve said while looking around the entirety of the room. 

The moment was short live when Bucky suddenly doubled over, groaning in pain. He started to look pale and sweaty and was taking in very short breaths. He was hyperventilating. 

“Bucky!” Steve was immediately by his side taking the gun and bottle out of Bucky’s hands and supporting him. 

“My stomach…something’s wrong!” He whimpered while collapsing to the floor. Steve supported him enough and made sure he didn’t fall too hard. Bucky was burning up and was breaking into a cold sweat. Steve lifted his shirt to reveal the blood soaked bandage. He gently pushed the bandage down to see the incision and let out a shaky breath. 

It was infected. 

“Okay Bucky listen to me, we have to get you over on the bed okay? Your stomach’s got an infection and if I don’t clean it out soon it might get worse.” Steve said in an oddly calm manner. All Bucky could do was nod weakly. Steve was baffled. Why wasn’t the serum helping him heal? His ankle was already half way through healing itself yet Bucky’s been in this condition for more than 24 hours and it only seems to be getting worse. Whatever they’ve cut out or put in there must have been big and too deep of an incision for the Serum to act fast enough against an infection spreading.

Steve picked Bucky up and took him over to the bed in the other room. Frantically, he went back outside to light up an old rusty lantern to bring back into the room along with the bottle of whiskey and a knife from the kitchen. He sat beside Bucky who was going in and out of consciousness. 

“Bucky! Stay with me damn it!” Steve yelled as he ripped both of his sleeves off his shirt. He ripped open the gross bandage on Bucky’s stomach to reveal the gnarly wound. Luckily the stitching still held together. He opened up the bottle of whiskey and doused the cloths with it. 

“This is going to hurt” he warned and without hesitation Steve poured a generous amount of whiskey all over the incision. 

Bucky screamed and arched his back in complete agony. The stinging feeling was severe from the raw flesh reacting with the alcohol. He writhed and screamed in pain until his voice became hoarse. 

“I’m so sorry Buck, I promise I’m almost finished” Steve winced. Seeing his best friend like this wasn’t easy, especially if he’s the one inflicting the pain. He proceeded to clean the wound with the damp cloth. Bucky whimpered some more but eventually he was slowly passing out from the pain. Steve checked his pulse and was relived that it was stabilising. The only thing that worried him was Bucky’s fever. After cleaning the wound up, he placed the other cloth he acquired from his sleeve on Bucky’s stomach to protect the cut from any more bacteria that could possibly come in. 

Moments later, Bucky was completely passed out. His breathing was steady but the fever was still present. Steve sat on the edge of the bed next to his best friend watching him sleep.

“God, Bucky…what the hell did they do to you?” Steve whispered sadly as he dabbed a rag on Bucky’s face to rid the sweat from his forehead. This took him back to the times where he took care of his mother when she was ill.

Steve sat there in silence looking at Bucky as he slept in peace. There was something about him that Steve couldn’t figure out. Every time he looked at his best friend he had this deep and warm feeling inside and whenever he was around him he would try to be as close as he can to him. Steve couldn’t describe this feeling or why he felt it so he brushed it off thinking it was because of the trauma and stress they had just endured. 

\- 

Dawn came across the morning sky the next day. The fresh sunlight exposed the nature within the cabin’s surroundings. It was a chilly morning and naturally Steve was tucked up against Bucky’s arm. His skin was so warm and comforting. Steve let out a hum and stirred in his sleep. Waking up to find himself so unbelievably close to Bucky made him get up in a heartbeat, shaking the bed along with him. He was kicking himself mentally for getting up with such haste as it caused Bucky to stir in his sleep a little. Luckily he didn’t wake him up. Steve looked down at his ankle to find that it was fully healed. He saw this as an opportunity to start the day by finding food for the both of them. He let Bucky rest and venture out to explore the area. He made a mental note to be vigilant about bear traps this time. He took the same knife that he used to help Bucky last night and took advantage of the clothes he found in the bedroom and decided to wear a pair of slightly worn jeans, cream coloured t-shirt and a swampy green sweater. He gently rested the back of his hand on Bucky’s forehead and was relieved to see that he wasn’t burning up anymore. He took one good look at Bucky and smiled at his peaceful sleeping state. He blushed a little as he found himself staring a little too long. With that he was off. 

Steve took a big breath of fresh air as soon as he stepped outside. The chilly air felt dewy against his skin, it was very refreshing. He walked along a trail he found behind the cabin and had no idea where he was going but he made sure to make marks against the trees to know how to get back. As he was walking along some more he heard water splashing in the distance. He followed the sounds of the water until he saw a lake that didn’t stretch too far across the land. The sounds of the water splashing were a bunch of ducks flapping their wings on the surface of the lake. This was perfect he thought. He can finally clean himself up after God knows how long it’s been since he’s had a proper bath. He did smell quite bad and that was a good enough excuse to jump in. He stripped himself naked and bomb-dived in the water causing a big splash that scared the ducks away. The water was cold but tolerable. Steve quickly finished up and turned around to get out of the lake. As he walked along the dirt he spotted something hidden away in the bushes nearby. He went to inspect the mysterious object by tearing away the vines and leaves that had grown around it. It was a rowing boat and it happened to have some tools in it. Smiling to himself, Steve inspected the boat and found a wooden fishing rod and a large metal tackle box. He decided to leave the boat for now but took the old fishing gear to make use of it. He couldn’t go back empty handed and he was sure Bucky would wake up just as hungry as he was. 

After multiple attempts at using the rod he finally caught a sizeable fish to take back to the cabin with him. Steve also emptied the tackle box and filled it with lake water to take back with him for later use. 

-  
Back at the cabin, Bucky stirred in his sleep and let out a small stretch with his arms. As his eyes fluttered open he looked down at his stomach. The dressing of the bandage looked different…must have been Steve. He didn’t really remember what happened last night but he was sure that Steve took care of him.

“Steve?” Bucky called out. No response, must be out. He felt a little worried that something may have happened. Even though he knows Steve has a newfound strength, he still worries about him just like he did before the serum. Bucky slowly got out of bed to take a look at himself at the long and rusted mirror in the corner of the room. His stomach looked weird. It was very very slightly swollen above where the incision was made. It made him wonder whether they put something inside him… 

“Bucky? You awake?” his thoughts interrupted by the front door opening. 

“Yeah I’m inside!” he responded. Steve walked in and was happy to see his best friend awake and well. 

“Looks like we’re having fish for dinner” Bucky chuckled as they both exited the room. 

“How are your stitches going?” Steve asked as he set the fish on the table. 

“I’m not entirely sure I haven’t looked.” Bucky took the bandage off the incision to find that it looked almost completely healed. All that was left was a thick scar running across his lower abdomen along with the almost invisible swelling. 

“Looks like the serum is finally doing its job.” Steve smiled as he lit the fireplace up. He took the water he collected from earlier and poured it into a metal tin to place over the fire to boil and rid the bacteria of it. “I found a lake nearby, I was hoping you’d want to check it out and maybe wash yourself up.”

“Yeah sure that would be nice. Feel like a rat that’s been crawling through filthy sewage for weeks.” Steve scrunched his face in disgust at Bucky who then laughed in response.

It was nice to finally have a little friendly banter after what they’ve just been through.

\- 

Nighttime approached and it was getting dark very quickly. Steve cooked up the fish he caught earlier and it wasn’t too shabby according to Bucky considering the limited resources he had to prepare it. Earlier before the sun had set, Steve took Bucky down to the lake for him to finally wash up. The wound was completely closed up so it was safe to do so. On top of that, the clothes that they found in the wardrobe earlier had also fit Bucky so he could finally get out of the disgusting garments he’d been wearing when they escaped.

“We need to lay low here for a while so that we don’t risk getting caught.” Steve said, breaking the silence between the two. For a little while after dinner they both sat on the logs by the fire to keep warm. 

Bucky looked at Steve with worried eyes. He had to agree with him. They didn’t know where they were. Those HYDRA soldiers could be on the hunt for them for all they know. They needed to play it safe

This would have to be their life for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this chapter! It's what encourages me to finish the story. I'll hopefully see you guys very soon for the next one because that's when things start to get really weird for Bucky..


End file.
